Former Vol Higgins Named Central High Coach

Some adults still don't know what they want to be once they've grown up.

Jon Higgins knew while he was playing high school basketball in Shaker Heights, Ohio, in the late 1990s.

"I wanted to get into coaching," Higgins said Tuesday. "At what level? Didn't really matter.

"Once I got out of college, I realized that high school would probably be the best way for me to go. I enjoy teaching math, but also I enjoy teaching young people how to play basketball."

Higgins, a former University of Tennessee guard from 1999-2003, will be doing that soon at Central High School.

Central athletic director Charlie Sheets announced the hiring of Higgins as the school's new boys' basketball coach.

Higgins, 31, has been an assistant coach on Jody Wright's staff at Fulton since the 2009-10 season. He replaces Mitch Mitchell, who resigned in mid-April after two seasons with the Bobcats. Central went 39-21 under Mitchell, reaching the Region 2-AAA semifinals in 2011.